Design of Flexiable Pavement

to ASSHTO
Guide for Design of Pavement Structures

Accompanying Document
to Design Spreadsheet

Officine Maccaferri Spa

Via Agresti, 6
40123 Bologna
tel. +39-051-6436000 fax. +39-051236507
www.maccaferri.com

March 2007

Introduction
This document describes the design of flexible pavements, in accordance with
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) Guide for Design of Pavement Structures. This design method is
an empirical method.
Flexible pavements consist of a prepared subgrade layer which is the roadbed
soil compacted to a specified density. A subbase course is constructed on top
of the prepared roadbed, and may be omitted if the subgrade soil is of a high
quality. The base course is constructed on the subbase course, or if no
subbase is used, directly on the roadbed soil. It usually consists of aggregates
such as crushed stone, or crushed gravel and sand. On top of the base
course is the surface course that typically consists of a mixture of mineral
aggregates and bituminous materials.
Design Approach
The approach to flexible pavement design is similar for reinforced and
unreinforced pavements and can be divided into two steps:
1. The structural number of the pavement is determined. This is
independent of the reinforcement,
2. The depth of the pavement materials can be determined.
Determining the Structural Number
The AASHTO design approach uses the empirically based Structural Number
(SN) to quantify the structural strength of a pavement required for a given
combination of soil support, total traffic, reliability, and serviceability level. The
required SN is converted to actual thickness of surfacing, base and subbase,
by means of appropriate layer coefficients representing the relative strength of
the construction materials.
The design equation is as follows:
SN = a1 D1 + a 2 D2 m2 + a3 D3 m3

(1)

Where,
ai
is the ith layer coefficient,
Di
is the thickness of the ith layer,
mi
is the drainage coefficient for the ith layer.
The number of the layers starts at the upper most and continuous downward.
The 1st layer is the bituminous layer, while the 2nd layer the base course. The
drainage of the bituminous layer is not considered in design.
The basic empirical design equation in the ASSHTO design guide is as
follows:

 PSI
log10
4.2 1.5 + 2.32 log ( M ) 8.07
log10 (W18 ) = Z R S o + 9.36 log10 ( SN 1) 0.20 +
10
R
1094
0.40 +
(SN + 1)5.19
(2)
Where,
W18
is the number of 18 kip (80 kN) equivalent single axle load (ESAL)
applications,
ZR
is the standard normal deviate,
So
is the combined standard error of the traffic prediction and performance
prediction,
PSI is the difference between the initial and terminal serviceability indexes.
Mr
is the resilient modulus of the formation soil in psi.
By solving equation (2) for the structural number SN, the required depths of
the pavement layers can be determined from equation (1).
The calculation of the structural number requires the following parameters to
be determined:
1. The reliability parameter,
2. The serviceability criteria,
3. The combined standard error,
4. The resilient modulus of the formation soil,
5. The layer coefficients,
6. The drainage coefficients,
7. The number of 18 kpi (80 kN) equivalent axle loads (ESAL)
applications.
The reliability parameter
The reliability parameter is a means of incorporating a degree of certainty into
the design process to ensure that the various design alternatives will perform
over the analysis period (deign life of the pavement). The level of reliability is
a function of the volume of traffic, the importance of the roadway and the risk
of not performing to expectation.
The level of reliability suggested in ASSHTO guide are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Level of reliability for different road types.
Functional classification
Recommended level of reliability (%)
Interstate and other freeways
85-99.9
80-99.9
Principal arterials
80-99
75-95
Collectors
80-95
75-95
Local
50-80
50-80
The standard normal deviate Z R is directly related to the level of reliability.
Note: Z R is a negative value.

The serviceability criteria

The serviceability of a pavement is defined as its ability to serve the type of
traffic which uses the pavement, the measure of serviceability is the Prime
Serviceability Index (PSI) which ranges from 0 (impossible road) to 5 (perfect
raod. The ASSHTO guide uses the total change in serviceability index ( PSI )
as the serviceability design criteria, which is defined as:

PSI = po pt
Where,
po
is the initial serviceability index.
pt
is the terminal serviceability index, which is based on the lowest index
that will be tolerated before rehabilitation.
Washington State Department of Transportation suggest that:
po = 4.5
pt = 3.0 giving,
PSI = 1.5
The combined standard error
The combined standard error variable defines how widely the two basic
design inputs, traffic and performance, can vary. Its value should be selected
to represent the local conditions. Typical values of So used are 0.40 to 0.50
for flexible pavements and 0.35 to 0.40 for rigid pavements.
The resilient modulus of the formation soil
The empirical ASSHTO design equation (2) is based on the resilient modulus
which is correlated with the CBR value of the foundation soil as follows:
M r ( psi ) = 1500CBR (%)

Note: That equation (2) is empirical and therefore M r must be inputted in

units of psi.
In the design spreadsheet M r is inputted in kPa and converted by the
spreadsheet to psi. This was to insure consistency of units.
The modulus in kPa can be calculated directly from CBR as follows:
M r (kPa) = 10335CBR (%)

The layer coefficients

Layer coefficients are empirical relationships between structural number (SN)
and layer thicknesses which expresses the relative ability of a material to
function as a structural component of the pavement. The magnitude of the
layer coefficient is a function of the modulus of the material layer.

ASSHTO provides guidance in the form of charts relating modulus to layer

coefficient, Figures 1,2,3,& 4. These charts are material type specific.

Figure 1. Relationship between elastic modulus and layer coefficient, a1 , for

dense graded asphalt concrete.

Figure 2. Variation of layer coefficient, a2 , with different strength parameters.

Figure 3. Variation of layer coefficient, a2 , with different strength parameters

for bituminous treated base course.

Figure 4. Variation of layer coefficient, a2 , with different strength parameters

for cement treated base course.

The drainage coefficients

The drainage characteristics of the pavement is accounted for through the use
of modified layer coefficients. Table 2 presents the definitions of drainage
levels suggested in the ASSHTO guide. The drainage of the bituminous layer
(Layer 1) is not considered in design.
Table 2. ASSHTO drainage conditions
Quality of Drainage
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Very poor

Water Removed Within

2 hours
1 day
1 week
1 month
Water will not drain

Table 3 presents the ASSHTO recommended mi values as a function of the

drainage quality and the percentage of time during the year the pavement
structure would normally be exposed to moisture levels approaching
saturation.
Table 3. Recommended values of the drainage coefficients, mi
Quality
of Percentage of time pavement structure is exposed to
drainage
moisture levels approaching saturation
<1%
15%
2 25 %
> 25 %
Excellent
1.40 1.35
1.35 1.30
1.30 1.20
1.20
Good
1.35 1.25
1.25 1.15
1.15 1.00
1.00
Fair
1.25 1.15
1.15 1.05
1.00 0.80
0.80
Poor
1.15 1.05
1.05 0.80
0.80 0.60
0.60
Very poor
1.05 0.95
0.95 0.75
0.75 0.40
0.40
The number of 18 kpi (80 kN) equivalent axle loads (ESAL) applications
The ESAL is a function of the current traffic estimate, the anticipated traffic
growth factor, the number of lanes on the carriageway, the reliability of the
pavement and environmental effects. The calculation of the 18 kpi (80 kN)
equivalent axle load is considered beyond the scope of this document and the
design spreadsheet.
Modification of the ASSHTO method to incorporate reinforcement
The structural contribution of the reinforcement placed in the base course on
a flexible pavement can be quantified by the increase in the layer coefficient
of the aggregate base course. Equation (1) now becomes:

SN = a1 D1 + a2 LCRD2 m2 + a3 D3 m3

(3)

Where,
LCR is the layer coefficient ratio, which has a value greater than unity.
The LCR is generally determined based on the results of laboratory testing on
flexible pavements system incorporating reinforcement. A value of 1.4 for

extruded polypropylene and polyethylene geogrids and 1.25 for woven

polypropylene geotextiles are suggested.
The Structural Number for the pavement is calculated using equation (2) in
the same manner as an unreinforced pavement.
The reduction in aggregate base course thickness can be calculated using
equation (3) as follows:

D2 =

SN a1 D1 a3 D3 m3
a2 LCRm2

Alternatively the asphalt thickness can be reduced. The thickness of the

asphalt thickness can be calculated as follows:

D1 =

SN a2 LCRD2 m2 a3 D3 m3
a1

Operation of the design spreadsheet

The spreadsheet is divided into two steps. The first is the calculation of the
structural number which is independent of any reinforcement type present.
The second step is to determine the thickness of each layer based on the
calculated structural number. The spreadsheet allows this calculation for both
unreinforced and reinforced pavements for a direct comparison.
The design spreadsheet is interactive allowing the user to select values from
tables were necessary. The following are the required inputs:
1. The reliability parameter, which is selected from a table,
2. The resilient modulus of the formation soil, inputted in units of kPa and
converted by the program to units of psi for use in calculations,
3. The combined standard error,
4. The layer coefficients,
5. The drainage coefficients, which are selected from a table
6. The number of 18 kpi (80 kN) equivalent axle loads (ESAL)
applications,
7. The Layer Coefficient Ratio for the reinforcement is the pavement,
8. The depth of the asphalt, base course and subbase course for depth
calculations.
The design spreadsheet has an input/output user interface and a calculations
sheets. Values are only entered in the yellow boxes. On no account should
values be entered in the orange boxes. The user interface and calculation
sheet are presented in Figures 5 & 6.
In calculating the structural number the Calculate button must be clicked.
The drainage coefficient can be selected by clicking the Select m based on
drainage conditions in base and subbase layers. This opens a new window
where the mi coefficients can be selected for each layer, Figure 7.

The reliability parameter is also selected by clicking the Select Level of

reliability button, which opens a new window where the value is selected. The
standard normal deviate value is automatically determined by the design
spreadsheet for the level of reliability.
With the structural number determined, the thickness of the construction
layers can be varied to arrive at a satisfactory design. The spreadsheet allows
the user to vary the depth of the asphalt, base course and subbase course for
both the reinforced and unreinforced sections. In each case two depths are
required, while the third will be calculated. It should be noted that once the
structural number has been calculated the depth of the layers can be varied
independent.
Where the pavement does not include either a base course or subbase, the
layer coefficient or depth of the layer can be set to zero to remove the layer
from the calculation.
The input sheet also allows minimum depth to be set for each layer. If on the
calculation of a layer thickness this minimum value is pass a warning
message will appear on the sheet. The use can either reduce the minimum
depth of the layer or vary the depths of the other pavement layers.

Figure 5. The input/output user interface.

Figure 6. The calculation sheet.

Figure 7. Selection of drainage coefficient.

Figure 8. Selection of the reliability parameter.